Jennie Geisler: In April, lemons taste like heaven

Jennie Geisler More Content Now

Wednesday

Apr 3, 2019 at 6:39 AMApr 3, 2019 at 6:39 AM

There’s just something about a lemon. The look, the smell, the taste, the versatility: Brightening dull soups, bringing out the flavor in fish, spiking a sauce, soaring to the heavens on the wings of sugar and spice. You can use it to soothe a sore throat, keep apples from browning - and if you have one left over, you can use it to scrub clean a cutting board and then deodorize the garbage disposal.

Meanwhile, no one who hasn’t tried hand-squeezed lemonade sweetened with real sugar syrup has really lived.

April and lemons go hand-in-hand in my book. This is mostly because I love baked goods with lemon and April is my birthday month. You do the math.

This cake is moist, tangy, sweet and you’ll want to eat every crumbly crumb. It would be an easy contribution to a potluck, a treat for co-workers on a dreary morning, a perfect partner to a cup of afternoon tea. Or coffee. Or motor oil. It’s really just about the cake. If it helps, you can call it “Lemon Yogurt Bread.” I think that automatically whacks like 60 calories off of every slice.

If you want to make it extra pretty, take a zester to the outside of a lemon and make a handful of stringy lemon peel pieces, a couple of inches long. Dredge them in sugar and place them decoratively on top of the loaf right after you take it out of the oven.

For the glaze:1 cup powdered sugar2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juicePreheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the bottom of an 8½-by-4¼-by-2½-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.